Winning Over the Lady / As soon as the first class ended, Chika Fujiwara got up, left her seat, and trotted over to Yukino.

"Good morning, Miko."

Miko had her schoolbag on her back. After a few days apart, faint dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes again, perfectly matching her listless-girl aura. She yawned.

"Mm, good morning~"

"Time to go." Amamiya Natsuki walked to Miko's front door. "We've got the opening ceremony today, too. We can't be late."

Miko remarked:

"You're the Student Council President, and you're not worried about being late. What have I got to worry about?"

The two of them set off with the Elementary School Student, chatting as they went. After crossing several streets, a short-haired blonde girl came jogging over from the other side of the road. The slime on her chest bounced with every step, drawing plenty of attention.

"Miko! Natsuki! It's been ages!"

The newcomer was Miko's best friend, Yurikawa Hana.

"Good morning, Hana."

Miko's smile stiffened. She couldn't help taking half a step back, then shot Amamiya Natsuki a pleading look.

Yurikawa Hana had a very unusual constitution and was easily possessed by all kinds of evil spirits. They hadn't seen each other all summer, and now all sorts of evil spirits were crawling all over Hana. Fortunately, the Elementary School Student couldn't see them, or she'd surely have burst into tears on the spot.

Amamiya Natsuki gave a slight nod to show he understood, then quietly activated Evil Spirit Repellent Aura.

The aura swept over them. The evil spirits on Yurikawa Hana burst into flames and, amid hollow, empty howls, turned to black mist and silently disappeared.

"Phew..."

Miko secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As they spoke, Yurikawa Hana had already jogged up to them. She tilted her head in confusion.

"That's strange. I suddenly feel so much lighter."

I just exorcised a dozen or twenty evil spirits for you. Of course you